Button-setting machine



(No Model.) 4Sheets-$heet 1. T. H. TR AVER.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

IN 7 I m III - T T 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. (No Model.) T H. TRAVERI BUTTONSETTING MACHINE. No. 448,696.- Patented Mar. 24, 1891.

Tm 7r miiiii i 7e 4 SheetsSheet 3.

T. H. TRAVER. BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

No. 448,696. Patented Mar. 2 1, 1891.

(No Model.)

II E

) iii-Limit STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE II. TRAVER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BUTTON-SETTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Fatent No. 448,696, dated March24, 1891.

Application filed May 10,1890. Serial No. 351,847. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE II. TRAVER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvementsin Button-Fasten in g Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Hy invention relates to certain improved features of a button-machine ofthe class shown in United States Patent No. 308,419, granted August 16,1887, to Olds and Eklund; and my invention consists in certain devicesand combinations of devices in a machine of this class whereby thebuttons are fed one at a time in position to have the staple-wire fedthrough their eyes, and whereby said wire is severed into staplelengths, the lengths being formed into a staple and the staple, with abutton attached, carried down and the legs of the staple forced throughthe fabric and clinched on its under side at a single stroke oroperation of the machine. With the above named mechanism I have combinedin some instances a feed and spacing mechanism, whereby the fabric ismoved along as the op eration of setting the button progresses.

The particular improvements in the construction of the parts relate moreparticularly to certain features of the button-holding receptacle andthe means for forcing the buttons t-hereout into a chute or passageway,which I make open at one side thereof so as to expose the buttons; tocertain improvements in the feeding mechanism for the wire from whichthe staples are formed, said improvements comprising in addition to theusual feed-wheels positive gears for driving said wheels, said gearsbeing driven by a shaft to which is imparted an intermittent rotarymotion by means of a ratchet-and-pawl mechanism actuated by thevertically-moving rod which actuates the bars to form and drive thestaple; to a spacing mechanism whereby the fabric to which the buttonsare attached is fed along over the fabric as the buttons are set, suchfeed being so regulated that the buttons are spaced equal distancesapart along the fabric, and to a locking mechanism for theoperating-treadle, so that said treadle must-be given a full stroke ineither direction, and thereby the possibility of feeding a doubleportion of wire and of partially form and bending bar and by it carriedup into the machine, is avoided.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of themachine, partly in sec tion. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, also partly insection. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the side opposite that shown inFig.1. The standard is broken away in each of these views. Figs. 4t and5 are respectively side, sectional, and broken plan views of the lowerend of the standard and showing the locking means applied to thetreadle. Fig. 6 is aside elevation of the driving mechanism for thefeed-wheel gears, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow 6 inFig. 1. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a portion of the frame-work,showing also the cutting, bending, and driving bars, the anvil inposition, and a wire-guide, and showing, also, at the lower right-handcorner of the figure a shearing-block. Fig.8 is a front and sideelevation of the drivingbar; Fig. 9, similar views of a former; Fig. 10,similar views of a wire-guide; Fig. 11, like views of the cutting andbending bar, and Fig. 12 a cross-sectional reversed plan above the line12 12 of Fig. 7.

In the drawings, 13 represents an upright hollow standard withsupporting feet 14, through which standard passes averticallyreciprocating shaft 15, connected at its lower end with a rod16, pivotally connected with a treadle 17.

18 represents the table.

The shaft 15 projects above the hollow standard 13and carries on itsupper end a short horizontal head 19, which is secured upon shaft 15 bymeans of the set-screws 20.

21 is an adjustingnut, which will be threaded onto the upper end ofshaft 15, and which being turned in one direction or the other will forma stop against which the heat 19 may be set.

22 is a frame or bracket offsetting from the hollow standard 13 andhaving formed at its outer vertical edge Ways within which move thecutting and bending barsand the drivingbar. On the front of said frameand covering the ways are removable face-plates 22 and the latter havinga slot 22 to permit the button-shank to pass on its way to the anvil.

23 is a stationary anvil over which the work is placed and which anvilwill be formed on its upper side so as to bend and clinch the legs ofthe staple upon the under side of the fabric.

24 is a bifurcated cutting and bending bar whose legs are provided ontheir inner sides with grooves, (indicated at 24, Fig. 11,) and thelower end of one of said legs will be fashioned so as to shear the wireto form the staplelength, and both of said legs will be provided intheir lower ends with the grooves 2i" to straddle the wire, so as tohold it securely during the operation of bending and forming the staple.The upper end of this cutting and bending bar is bent, as at 25, and thebent end carries a rod 26, the upper end of which passes through anaperture in the head 19. A coiled spring 27 is interposed between thebent extension 25 and the head 10 and is intended to hold the cuttingand bending bar down after it has performed its working stroke until thesetting-bar has completed its movement.

The setting-bar is shown in Fig. 8 and its lower end is a thin or flatstrip 2 having wings 28, which move within the grooves it of the legs ofthe cutting and bending bar. The lower end of the driver 28 is recessed,as at 28 in order to straddle the eye of the button and the crown of thestaple. The driver 28 is secured with a flat bar 20, whose upper end issecured by screws to the outer end of the head 19. On the rear side ofthe bar 29 is a pivoted latch 30 in the form of a bellcrank lever. Thehorizontal member of the bell-crank lever 30 carries a pin 31, whichtravels in a cam-slot 32 of the bracket 33, said bracket being securedrigidly with the offsetting frame 22. (See Figs. 1, 2, and T.) Thebell-crank 3O bears at its bend upon the upper 1 end of the cut-ting andbending bar 2i, and in the operation of the machine forces said bar downin advance of the setting-bar whenever the shaft 15 is reciprocatcd; butwhen the parts thus locked together have moved down until the cuttingand bending bar has performed its function the pin 31 movesinto theoffset portion of the cam-slot and disengages the bell-crank lever fromits bearing on the cutting and bending bar, and thus frees thesetting-bar, so that it may be further depressed to set the staple.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 10, 3t reprcsents a wire-guide, whichcomprises a bent lever secured at its upper end to the back of the frame22 and having its lower end bent, as at 34:, the bent portion beinggrooved, as at 34:", for the passage of the wire. This bent end 81Lprojects through an opening in the lower part of the frame 22, so as tobring its groove in line with the actingfaces of the cutting and bendingand settingbars. The portion 31- of this wire-guide may be a flat steelbar, so that it may be flexed to remove its extension til out of the wayof the leg of the cutting and bending bar, and this leg will be adaptedto strike the upper side of the extension 34:, so as to force it backout of the way. This wire-guide bridges the space between the former andthe shearing-block 35, which latter is slipped into a recess in theframe 22, and is provided on two or more of its faces (so as to bereversible when worn) with grooves 35 for the passage of the wire. Thewire is sheared along the inner face of this block 35 by the sharpenededge of one leg of the cutting and bending bar. The staple-former isshown most clearly in Fig. 9 of the drawings, and it comprises a flatbar 30, having a foot 36, whose upper side is beveled, as at 236", andgrooved, as at 36. The upper end of the bar 36 is secured with the frame22, and is made of suitable material, so that it may be flexed, and thefoot 36 projects through an opening in the frame 22, so as to occupy aposition at the side of the wire-guide extension 34:. Its beveled facegives shape to the forming-staple and its groove 36 receives the eye ofthe button, while the wire is fed across said groove and through saideye. The staple-former is withdrawn by the engagement of the pin 3 onits side with the wedge 37 of a bar 37, attached at its upper end to thehead 19, so as to move therewith. As the head descends, the wedge 37passes behind the pin 30' and forces the foot 36 back out of the way ofthe driving-bar.

The staples are formed from lengths cut from a continuous wire 38, whichmay be fed from a reel (not shown) by means of the devices particularlyillustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 6.

39 are brackets projected from the frame 22, and in these bracketsbearings are formed for a shaft t0, and said shaft carries on its outerend a combined gear and feed wheel i]. The wheel 41 will have in oneportion of its periphery the groove 4-1, and its periphery will also beprovided with the gear-teeth 4.1", engaging with the teeth of thegear-wheel i), which rotates freely on a stud 43, carried by an arm at,having its upper end threaded and its threads engaged by the set-screw.5, the lower end of which is tapped into one of the brackets 39, and acoiled spring 46 surrounds the lower end of the screw 45. Bymanipulating the screw 45 the tension of the feed-wheel on the wire maybe regulated. The bracket H is held to the bracket 30 by a screw l7,passed through an oblong apertu re in the bracket 44, so that the lattermay play up and down, its movement being regulated by the adjustingscrew and spring before mentioned.

The upper end of shaft 10 bears a ratchetwheel 48, and also a plate it),which turns freely on the shaft 40 and carries at its upper end apivoted dog 50, whose lower end engages the teeth of the ratchet-wheel,the dog being confined by the usual spring. ()n

the plate 4:9 is a fixed pin 4C9, which travels in a cam-slot 51 in anarm 51, having an offset portion 51*, which passes through a slottedaperture in the hollow standard 13 and is secured to move with thereciprocating rod 15. As said rod is reciprocated it is evident that thepin 40 (which will carry an anti-friction roller) will be moved byreason of its impingement on the wall of the cam-slot 51, and

when the parts are in the position shown in Fig.

. of the tooth on the ratchet-wheel, thus feeding the wire 38 forward.By the time the wire has thus been fed forward the cutting and bendingbar will have descended, and at the completion of the feed of the wirewill shear off a length from the latter suflicient to form the staple.As the bending-bar still further descends it will engage the staplelength and bend it over the former 86, and afterward the cutting andbending bar being released, as'before described, the setting-bar willdescend and drive the'staple through the fabric, clinching its legs uponthe under side thereof upon the anvil 23. In the forward feed of thewire its end will be projected through one of the grooves 35 of theshearing-block 35, thence through the groove 34 of the wire guide orbridge 34, thence across the former, which latter will have restingthereon the eye of the button, the opening of the eye being presented inposition to permit the end of the wire to pass therethrough, and theforward end of the wire will project be yond the staple-former, so thatwhen the length of wire is cut off, as before described, its middle willbe centrally over the former.

The buttons will feed one at a time from a reservoir formed by a casing52, the body of which is made in two parts for convenience inconstruction and is provided with the removable top 53, having thecentral opening 53 One member of the casin g has the downward extension54, which will be adapted to receive and guide the button-eye and theother member has likewise a downwardlyprojecting leg 55, which is cutaway on one side throughout its length, so that the heads of the buttonsare exposed and any clogging or irregularity in the feed may becorrected by the operator. Arock-shaft 56, is journaled in the casin gand extends transversely of the buttonchamber and bears thereon thebrushes 57. This shaft is rocked by means of a link 58, which ispivotally connected at its lower end to the shaft so that it may swingin the axial line thereof. The slot of the link 58 receives a pin orscrew 59, carried on the head 19, and this link being inclined to theaxis of rotation ofthe shaft, the pin being set eccentrically thereto,the vertical reciprocatlon of the head 19 will cause the rocking of theshaft in its bearing and by the action of the brushes will sweep thebuttons toward. the aperture in the bottom of the chamber through whichthey drop into the chute or pas sage-way formed by the downwardextensions of the casing.

A partition 60 (shown by dotted line in Fig. 1) extends across thebutton-chamber at right angles to the shaft and from one wall of theopening near the bottom of the chamber, leaving an aperture below itslower end of sufficient size to permit the buttons to pass freelythereunder. The partition divides the button-chamber into twocompartments communicating through the opening, in one of whichcompartments the buttons are placed and in the other the brushes operateto sweep the buttons passing beneath the partition into the opening ofthe chute or passage-way. This partition moderates the feed of thebuttons and prevents their clogging or packing. At the lower end of thechute the button-eye falls into position upon the staple-former, its eyeresting in the groove 36 therein, and to hold the button securely to itsside While the wire is being passed through its eye I provide thepivoted lever 61, whose lower end is curved, as shown at 61, and isadapted to impinge upon thehead of the button. A spring 62 has its upperend secured to the button-chute and its lower end engages the upper endof the lever 61. The buttons are separated by means of alevertlt,carryingathinbarorfoot65atitslower end, and it has above itspivot 66 a cam-slot 67. This button-separating lever is rocked on itspivot by means of an arm 68, one end of which is attached to thedriving-bar and the bent end thereof projects out and passes through theslot 67, and thence outside of the upper end of the lever 61 and carriesa regulating-screw 69. As the driver moves down, carrying the pin 68with it, it rocks the separating-lever on its pivot and causes its footto pass between the lower button and the one next above it in thecolumn, thereby sustaining the column while the separated button isbeing attached. On its downward movement the bent end of the pin 68releases the lever 61 and permits its grooved end to force the separatedbutton inwardly and hold it firmly to its seat on the former, and on itsreturn movement said pin will again rock lever 61 on its pivot, movingits foot out sufficiently to permit a button to drop down to place onthe former.

The spacing mechanism which I have provided is particularly shown inFigs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, and it comprises alongitudinally-reciprocating feed-bar 70, which is shackled to the underside of the table and carries on its upper side a feed-dog 71, whichmoves with bar 70, reciprocating in an aperture 72 in the table. Ato-and-fro movement is imparted to this feed-bar by means of a shaft 73, carried by the hangers 74, and having on its end a crank-wheel '7 5,with whose wrist-pin a pitman 7G is connected, the lower end of saidpitman being pivoted upon a pin 77, secured with the reciprocating shaft15. The shaft 73 bears a cam 78,whiehis adapted when the shaft isrotated to engage once during each revolution with an extension 79 onthe feed-bar, and also with the under side of said bar. This cam is adisk-segment, and in the revolution of the shaft one of its points willengage with the extension 79 to move the feed-bar in one direction, andthe forward movement which forces the material along is caused by theimpingement of the pin of the cam 78 upon the under side of the feedbar.A spring 81 may be used to cause the positive depression of the feed-barand the disengagement of the feeding-dog from the material, and therebyto regulate the feed. 82 is an adjustable stop to regulate the feed.

83 is a presser-foot which is adapted to rest on the top of the fabricbeing operated upon, and it has an upper extension 83, which has asliding connection at 83 with the frame 22, and the upper end of thisextension 83 is pivotally connected with an adjustable device comprisinga cam-lever 8i, pivoted to the frame of the machine. A brake-rod S5 isseated at its lower end on the periphery of the cam, and a coiled springis seated against a bracket 87, projecting also from the side of theframe and upon the foot of the brake-rod 85. The pressenfoot and feedmechanism above described will be used chiefly in attaching buttons touppers, and may be dispensed with when buttons are to be applied tofinished shoes.

A locking mechanism is applied to the treadle for the purpose ofpreventing less than a full stroke thereof, and this locking mechanismcomprises a dog 88, pivoted on the side of the treadle 17 and adapted tobear at its upper end against the foot ll of the machine, which isvertically slotted for the passage of the treadle through it, as shownin Figs. 4c and 5. On the downstroke this dog will ride upon the edge ofthe foot ll, but until a full stroke is made it will prevent the returnof the treadle. At the end of the full stroke the dog will be freed fromits engagement with the foot, the latter being cutaway, as shown at 14,for this purpose, and the dog will then swing on its pivot, so that thetreadle may pass freely until it has completed its upward movement, bywhich time the in ner end of the dog will have been engaged by spring89, secured on the under side of the base, which will return the dogagain into operative position, the feet It being cut out toward theupper end of the slot, as shown by the dotted line l t", to permit thedog to be righted. A pin 90, set on the side of the treadle, acts as astop to limit the swing of the dog.

I elaim- 1. In a button-setting machine, the combination, with means forfeeding the buttons singly in position to receive a staple-wire,

of means for feeding said wire intermittently through the eye of thebutton, a cutting and bending bar for severing the wire into a staplelength and forming it into a staple, and a setting-bar for driving thelegs of the staple with the button attached through the fabric andclinching it beneath, an anvil whereon the legs of the staple areclinched, a fabricfeeding and button-spacing mechanism comprising areciprocating feed-bar having a feeding-dog and an extension adapted tobe engaged by a cam, a shaft bearing a cam to engage the extension, adisk on said shaft having an eccentric-pin, and a pitman connected tothe pin and to the shaft, which drives the cutting and bending andsetting bars and adapted to actuate said feed after the button has beenset, substantially as described.

2. In a button-setting machine, the combination, with a chute orpassage-way in which the buttons are formed in column, of means forseparating said buttons, a pivoted lever having an end adapted toimpinge on the head of the lower button of the column, a spring adaptedto normally press said end against the button, a releasing devicecomprising an arm secured at one end with a moving part of the mechanismand its other end adapted to engage the upper end of the pivoted leverduring the upstroke, and a setserew in said engaging end, whereby themovement of the pivoted lever may be regulated, substantially asdescribed.

23. In a button-feeding device for buttonsetting machines, thecombination, with a casin g to provide a button-receptacle, saidreceptacle having a transverse partition extending across between itsside walls from the opening to near its bottom, whereby to divide thereceptacle into two compartments having communication through theopening, of a rockshaft journaled in said casing transversely to thepartition and having brushes operating within one of the compartments tosweep the buttons passing through the aperture below the partition intothe chute or pa sage-way, and means for operating the shaft,substantially as described.

l. In a button-feeding device for buttonsetting machines, thecombination, with a casing to provide a button-chamber, of a rockshaftjournaled in said chamber and provided with brushes, a slotted linkpivotally connected to the rock-shaft, and a pin connected with a movingpart of the machinery and adapted to work in the slot of the link,whereby to rock said shaft within the chamber, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a button-setting machine; the combination, with a chute orpassage-way in which the buttons are formed in column, of a separatingdevice comprising a pivoted lever having a foot adapted to be projectedbetween the lower button of the column and the one next above it, andsaid lever having above its pivot a cam-slot and a pin connected with amoving part of the mechanism and projected into said slot, whereby thefoot is projected between the buttons to separate them, substantially asdescribed.

6. In a button-sctting machine, the combination, with a staple cuttingand bending bar, of a setting-bar and means for locking said barstogether dnrin g a portion of their stroke, said means comprising afixed arm having a cam-slot therein, and a bell-crank lever hav ing onemember thereof provided with a pin adapted to enter the slot in the bar,its other member connected with the setting-bar and its shoulder adaptedto rest on the top of the cutting and bending bar, substantially asdescribed.

'7. In a button-setting machine, the combination, with the cutting andbending bar, of a former adapted to support a staple length of wirewhile being formed into a staple, said former comprising an armconstructed from a resilient material and having a foot at its lower endadapted to normally project into the path of the cutting and bending barin position to support the staple length, and a tripping devicecomprising an arm secured with a moving part of the machine and havingits end adapted to engage with the bar, carrying the former on thedownstroke ot' the machine, whereby to withdraw its foot after thestaple has been formed, substantially as described.

8. In a button-setting. machine, the combination, with means for feedingthe buttons singly in position to receive a staple-wire, means forfeeding said wire intermittently through the eye of a button, a cuttingand bending bar for severing the wire into staple lengths and forming itinto staples, and a setting-bar for driving the legs of the staplethrough the fabric, and an anvil whereon the legs of the staple areclinched, of afeeding and spacing mechanism comprising a reciprocatingfeed-bar having a feed-dog secured therewith, said bar being connectedto and actuated by the power which sets the button, and an adjustablestop whereby to regulate the feed, substantially as described.

9. Ina machine for attaching buttons by means of wire staples cut from acontinuous wire, the combination of means for feeding the wireintermittently through the eye of the button, with a reciprocatingcutting and bending bar, a shearing-block secured at the side of thepath of said bar, said block being grooved on two or more of its faces,whereby it is adapted to be reversed when worn, a setting-bar fordriving the legs of the staple through the fabric, and an anvil whereonthe legs are clinched, substantially as described.

10. In a button-setting machine, the combination, with means for feedingthe wire forward intermittently to form a staple, a cutting and bendingbar for severing the wire into staple lengths and forming the staple,and a reciprocating setting-bar for driving the staple down with thebutton attached and forcing its legs through the fabric, and an anvilwhereon said legs are clinched, of means for preventing the working ofthe machine except upon a full stroke, said means comprising, incombination with the operatingtreadle, a pivoted dog adapted to slidefreely over an adjacent fixed part of the downstroke and adapted toswing on its pivot at the close of said stroke, whereby to permit thereturn of the treadle, substantially as described.

11. In a button-setting machine, the combination, with means for feedingthe wire forward intermittently to form a staple, a cutting and bendingbar for severing the wire into staple lengths and forming the staple,and a reciprocating setting-bar for driving the staple down with thebutton attached and forcing its legs through the fabric, and an anvilwhereon said legs are clinched, of the treadle, a pivoted dog and a pinto limit the swing of said dog, an adjacent fixed part against which oneend of the dog is adapted to impinge on the downward stroke, and aspring secured with the frame-work of the machine and adapted to returnthe dog to normal position at the close of the upstroke, substantiallyas described.

THEODORE l-I. TRAVER.

'Witnesses:

(J. O. LINTHIOUM, E. L. HUBER.

